Code Red Lipstick (19 page)

Images of beauty counters in different shops appeared on the screen. Assistants stared expectantly at the camera in front of displays of Teenosity bottles.

“Now, in Jessica's absence, I'd be extremely grateful if you would assist me in counting down to the launch of Teenosity. Ten seconds, nine, eight—”

“Stop!” Jessica pushed her way through the crowd.

“That looks like Jessica Cole,” Trudy Tressler, a famous fashion magazine editor, said loudly. “I thought Allegra said she couldn't make it?”

The guests stared as she made her way to the front, followed by the officers.

“It's over, Allegra,” she said firmly. “You're not going ahead with this. MI6 and the police have surrounded you. You need to give yourself up.”

Allegra paled. Lyndon stepped forward and whispered something in her ear. She looked exasperated and batted him away.

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” she insisted. “The launch is going ahead as planned. Seven seconds, six…”

Jessica grabbed the microphone, pushing Allegra out of the way. Allegra's sunglasses flew off, exposing bulging, wild eyes.

“Teenosity is toxic and will maim anyone who uses it. You can't sell it!” Jessica shouted.

“Miss Cole is right,” Margaret said, taking the microphone off her. “These creams mustn't be sold. All stores should remove the bottles from the shop floor and make sure the seals on the packaging are kept intact.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd and photographers jostled to take Jessica's picture.

“How dare you?” Allegra hissed. She turned to the crowd. “Don't listen to them! This is my life's work. They're trying to ruin me because they're jealous of my success.”

“It's over,” Jessica repeated.

“No it's not!” Allegra screamed. “It's not over until I say it's over. They have to sell Teenosity. Those girls have to be made to pay.”

She reached into her handbag.

“She's still got the canister of Teenosity!” Margaret yelled. “She's going to release it. Take her out!”

An officer dived forward and wrestled Allegra to the ground. Margaret snatched the canister from her fingers and held it up triumphantly.

“I've got it! It's safe.”

Two officers pinned down Allegra while another handcuffed Lyndon.

“How dare you! Get your hands off me!” Allegra aimed kicks at the officers with her silver Jimmy Choo stilettos as they tried to handcuff her.

“Do you know who I am?” she screeched. “I'm Allegra Knight, the greatest supermodel in the world! You can't treat me like this!”

The guests looked stunned as she was dragged to the lifts.

“I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but the launch of Teenosity is cancelled,” a senior French officer said. “I understand from my British colleagues we have Jessica Cole to thank for averting a major catastrophe.”

The journalists surged towards her, barking questions.

“What is Teenosity?”

“What's wrong with it?”

“You need to ask the police,” she said politely, “but if you'll excuse me, I want to go and see my dad.”

Margaret helped clear a path through the crowd and they finally made it to the lifts. Jessica sank against the wall as the doors closed.

“Do you think Allegra would have released the canister?” she said.

“We'll never know, thankfully,” Margaret said, “but this job teaches you to expect the unexpected.”

She hesitated as the lift jolted and began its descent.

“I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that I didn't believe you or your dad from the beginning. I
was wrong. I should never have listened to Nathan, but he managed to convince us all that your dad was Starfish.”

“It was Nathan all along, wasn't it?” Jessica said. “It all made sense when I overheard the telephone conversation in his hotel room and found the photo in his wallet.”

Margaret pushed her hair behind her ears. “I'm afraid so. We've discovered he uploaded the file linking your dad to Vectra on his computer and set up a ghost bank account. The five hundred thousand pounds never existed. It appeared in your dad's bank statement but it never actually touched his account.”

That was clever – and devious. He'd almost got away with it too.

“Allegra said that Starfish wanted to get rid of me and Dad at the same time. That's why Nathan eventually agreed I should go into AKSC.”

“You both got in his way and were expendable,” Margaret said. “When he realized MI6 was going to storm the building and his plan was ruined, he came to get you first. He almost killed you back there.”

Jessica could still feel Nathan's hand on her back as the debris was about to hit them. She shivered.

“We should have investigated Nathan sooner given his history with your father,” Margaret said. “We let you down –
I
let you down – and for that I truly apologize. Mrs T wants to apologize in person too.”

“Thank you,” Jessica said. “That means a lot, but what will happen now?”

“When Nathan regains consciousness, he'll be interrogated. He betrayed his country, attempted to murder you, and we suspect he was involved in the murder of Lara Hopkins. We can't let him get away with it. He will be prosecuted and brought to justice.”

Two days later, Jessica perched lightly on the side of the hospital bed, careful not to put pressure on her dad's legs. His eyes remained closed. He'd lost consciousness shortly after arriving at hospital but his condition had stabilized. Although he remained hooked up to a breathing apparatus and a heart monitor, he looked much healthier. His face was pale and gaunt but no longer the terrible near-death grey colour it had been.

“He's strong. He's going to come through this.” Mattie squeezed her shoulder. “He'll wake up when he's ready. You'll see.'

“I know.” She flashed a smile at her grandma.

Jessica had phoned her after Allegra was arrested and Mattie had flown in straight away. Considering the pack of lies Jessica had told her over the last few days, she'd taken everything pretty well so far. Admittedly, she'd threatened to ground her until she was, like, eighteen. But she hadn't gone
totally
ballistic, and she was definitely more concerned about how she and her dad were doing.

Mattie sat down next to the bed and removed her navy Chanel jacket. She smiled at Jessica as she reached over and squeezed her dad's hand.

“He'll be so proud of you when he finds out what you did,” she said. “Naturally, I'm still furious that you went off behind my back like that, but I'm proud too. Jack wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you.”

“We were both lucky,” Jessica said. “But Mum wasn't. I know she used to be an MI6 spy and that she died on the job.”

Mattie let out a little cry and dropped her dad's hand. “Who told you?”

“It doesn't matter. The point is, why didn't
you
or Dad tell me?”

“Because telling you wouldn't bring her back,” she said, fighting back tears. “We both wanted to give you some sense of normality when your family wasn't normal. It was far from it. We wanted you to have happy memories.”

She looked away, refusing to meet Jessica's gaze.

“I do have happy memories, but there's something else you're not telling me.” Jessica stood up. “I can sense it. What is it? You think you're protecting me but you're not.”

“This last week has shown me that I can't protect you from everything,” Mattie said sadly. “However much I may want to.”

“So tell me.”

Mattie played with the sapphire ring on her index finger. “What I have to say is going to be difficult for you, but I want you to know that things are going to change when we get back home. Jack and I will always be here if you want to talk about Mum. You have my word.”

“What is it?” Jessica was suddenly afraid. She wished Dad would wake up right now. He'd call her jellybean before hugging her and making everything feel OK.

Mattie took a deep breath. “The helicopter crash,” she blurted out. “Your father suspected it wasn't an accident. That's why we never talk about it. We thought it was too much for you to cope with.”

Jessica felt the room lurch. “You're saying it was deliberate?”

“We don't know for sure. Accident investigators discovered that the pilot had high levels of barbiturates in his bloodstream. He wasn't fit to fly. It's possible he passed out or fell asleep while in the air.”

“So it was his fault?” Her voice sounded distant.

“He didn't have a history of drug abuse,” Mattie said. “It's possible his drink was spiked, but your father was never able to prove anything.”

Jessica stared at her dad, willing him to regain consciousness.

“He blamed Nathan Hall, didn't he? They fell out about the crash.”

Mattie gave her a strange look. “Yes, that's correct.”

“So Nathan could have spiked the pilot's drink and made sure he missed the flight. He's held some kind of grudge against our family ever since.”

Mattie shook her head. “That can't be true.”

“But it is. Don't you see? He's Starfish – a double agent. He set Dad up because he's done a deal with a terrorist and he tried to kill me.”

“He's your godfather, Jessica. He's supposed to protect you.”

“What?” She stared at Mattie in disbelief.

“You wouldn't remember him. You haven't seen him since you were very little. He and your father lost touch.”

“I don't believe you.”

“It's true. That's why Jack made him your contact point in an emergency.”

Jessica remembered the photo in his wallet, the way he had reached for her hand to try and comfort her on the Eurostar. She shook off the sentimental images. This made his betrayal far, far worse.

“He pushed me in front of the falling debris.”

“Are you sure you weren't mistaken?” Mattie asked. “Couldn't he have tried to save your life? The nurses say he's still in a coma. That could have been you, Jessica.”

She glared at Mattie. Why did she always have to contradict her?

“You weren't there. I know what happened and I know that Dad blamed him for Mum's death, so there's no point trying to hide that from me too.”

Mattie bristled. “Yes, I admit he was angry that Nathan hadn't seen the state the pilot was in that day.” She folded her arms.

“What else?”

“Your father accused him of being involved in the crash during a row. That's what caused the rift.”

“You see! So why are you defending him?”

“Because your father was raw with grief at the time. He lashed out at those closest to him. He didn't know what he was saying. I didn't take his accusations seriously. No one did.”

“I think he knew exactly what he was saying.” Jessica touched her dad's arm. “He believed Nathan was rotten and so do I. So does MI6. They have proof that he's Starfish.”

“What proof? What exactly do they say he's done?”

Jessica tapped her foot impatiently. “I can ask MI6 to give you a full debriefing if you want since you obviously don't believe a word I'm telling you.”

“I didn't say that.”

Jessica glared at her. “You didn't have to. It's written all over your face. You'd rather believe a double-crossing murderer instead of me and Dad.”

“For goodness' sake, Jessica, stop being so melodramatic! I'm just saying—”

“He's a traitor, you hear me? He betrayed Mum, he betrayed Dad and he betrayed me!”

Jessica stormed out of the room. She took it back about Mattie being reasonable over everything that had happened. Why wouldn't she ever listen to her? She turned the corner, colliding with a cleaner in pink overalls, who was pushing a trolley piled with rags and disinfectant.

“
Pardonnez-moi
,” Jessica said, manoeuvring past.

She strode up the corridor. She wished Dad would wake up – Nathan too, so she could get him to confess. Maybe then Mattie would believe her. There'd be no chance of getting any more info out of Allegra. According to Margaret, she was in a nearby psychiatric hospital and completely gaga, while Lyndon and the security guards were refusing to cooperate with police.

Jessica stopped as she approached the nurses' desk.

“Ohmigod!”

The dark-haired woman looked up, frowning. “What is it?” she said in French.

“Something's wrong!'

Jessica ran back. She'd caught a glimpse of the cleaner's shoes as she bumped into her. They were shiny black-patent courts, not the type of shoes you'd expect a cleaner to wear.

She burst through the door to her dad's private room in time to see Mattie grappling with a syringe in Allegra's hand. Her grandma managed to knee Allegra in the stomach and land a punch on her cheek. Allegra swung back, slamming Mattie against the wall. She crumpled to the floor.

Allegra looked up. “You!” Rage bubbled in her chest like tuberculosis. She leapt to the bedside, pointing the syringe.

“No!” Jessica yelled. “Get off my dad!”

She threw herself across the room at Allegra, knocking the syringe out of her hand. Allegra's fist smacked hard into her stomach. She was surprisingly strong for her tiny frame. Jessica fell to the ground, gasping. Allegra leapt over her, catlike, and was out of the door. Jessica willed herself to ignore the pain and crawled towards Mattie as a nurse burst through the door, red-faced and out of breath.

“What's happened?” the woman demanded.

“Get security,” Jessica panted. “We've been attacked.”

The nurse hit an alarm button on the wall and dashed out.

Jessica studied Mattie's face anxiously. “Are you OK?”

“I'm fine. She didn't manage to inject me.” She winced as she eased herself up the wall.

“I'm sorry, Mattie. For everything.” Jessica kissed her forehead as a doctor ran in, followed by another nurse. “I'll be back soon, I promise.”

“Wait! Stop!” Mattie tried to grab her hand but she was too quick.

She bolted out of the door and looked up and down the corridor. Nurses ran towards her from the corridor on the right as an alarm sounded. They'd have seen Allegra tear past if she'd gone that way. Jessica turned left, out of the ward and towards the main staircase. She leant over the side, looking up and down, but couldn't see a flash of pink overalls. She doubled back along the corridor and spotted a fire escape. She darted through the door. Allegra's pink overalls were halfway down the stairs, discarded as she fled to ground level. Then Jessica remembered the games Allegra liked to play. She couldn't fool her this time.

She climbed up the staircase, taking three steps at a time. She burst through the door at the top and emerged on the roof. The cold air was like a slap to her face. Allegra stood on the edge, her dishevelled hair blowing in the wind and her arms outstretched as if she were about to jump.

“No!” Jessica shouted.

Allegra rocked on her feet. She let out a long, hard laugh.

“You've always had it in for me, haven't you, Valerie?” she said. “From the first time we met I could tell you were jealous of the attention Daddy gave me. You wanted him all to yourself and when you realized he loved me more, you punished me day after day.”

She was hallucinating. Allegra thought she was her dead stepmother.

“I'm not Valerie, I'm Jessica,” she said. “You need to move away from the edge.”

“I don't have to do what you tell me. I don't live in your house any more, remember?”

She turned around, her eyes bright with rage.

“I can help you but you need to give yourself up,” Jessica said. “You need proper medical treatment. You need to go back to hospital.”

She was close enough to reach out and grab her if she tried to throw herself off the building.

“You'd like that, wouldn't you, Valerie?” Allegra spat back. “You want me locked up for the rest of my life so I can't outshine you any more. You want to destroy my modelling career, but you won't. I'll destroy you first.”

She looked strangely at Jessica.

“But I did destroy you, didn't I? You didn't see me behind you until it was too late. I watched you fall, step by step. I listened to the snap of your neck. I watched the life drain out of you and I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Ohmigod. Jessica remembered the newspaper cutting she'd found about Valerie Knight's fatal accident. Allegra had killed her own stepmother.

“I'm not your stepmother,” she said.

“The voices say you're a liar. You'll be telling me next that security guards are on their way to take me back to the psych ward.”

“They are,” Jessica said, bluffing. “They'll be here any minute. I told them I was heading up here.”

“Really? Then what are they doing down there?” Allegra peered over the edge and pointed to the ground. “They're sealing off the main staircases and the exits. No one knows you're up here, Jessica, except me.”